Discussion on its current location, passions for Ice House Gallery build on Social Media

Whether the Icehouse Gallery will remain in the Atlin Terminal has become
somewhat of a discussion theme these last few days for arts supporters 
in Prince Rupert

There is a loyal core of those in the Prince Rupert Arts community who are passionate about one of the premier locations to explore local artists, with the fate of the Ice House Gallery at the Atlin Terminal becoming somewhat of a percolating topic these days.

The Gallery, has a lease in the Atlin Terminal which expires later this year and as that period of time arrives, the landlord, which is the Prince Rupert Port Authority has plans to put the space up for open bid.

Towards some background when it comes to the months ahead,  we contacted the PRPA's  Manager of Corporate Communications,  Katherine Voigt who provided a brief thumbnail sketch of the process ahead.

"The lease for the space that the Ice House Gallery currently occupies is expiring later this year and the Prince Rupert Port Authority intends to engage in an open-bid process for a tenant in that location. 

The Ice House Gallery is aware and has been engaged with us; we expect they will consider submitting a bid if they have a desire to continue operating in the space. 

Once the process is open, any interested parties will be encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest for consideration."

The Ice House Gallery, has not made any public comment as of yet, with both their website and social media presence focused on the artists and their works that are on display.

However, the fate for the gallery into the future is making for some engaged commentary through a number of Social media streams, with one contribution noting of the lengthy history for the Gallery in its current location and concerns for the future for local artists.

The conclusion to the story ahead likely seems that more that of a business and retail issue for both sides involved to decide on. 

However, the passion for the artistic community and its opportunity to showcase its works will likely dominate much of the social discussion to come.

With some suggestions offered up, such as creating a Granville Island like experience in the community,  something that all involved in tourism in Prince Rupert may want to work toward delivering on.

More notes on Arts in the community can be reviewed through our archive page.